Mickey Arthur warns Wahab Riaz and Umar Akmal, says won't compromise on fitness

Can life change within a very short span of time? If anyone asks this question to the head coach of Pakistan cricket team Mickey Arthur, the immediate response will be positive. Before the beginning of the Champions Trophy 2017 that was played earlier this year, no one expected Pakistan to qualify even for the semis, let alone winning the coveted tournament.

Known to be a hard-taskmaster, Arthur pays a lot of attention on the team’s performance in terms of fielding. Hence, he has no vacancy in his team for any player, no matter how experienced the player might be. Hence, despite taking Umar Akmal to England, he sent him back and called for Haris Sohail. Now, the South African has given clear warnings to two senior cricketers, Akmal and Wahab Riaz.

“We are not going to compromise on fitness at any cost and we have set some standards to meet for every player and only those players, who will keep on meeting that set standards, will remain in the team. The benefits of that will result in better running between the wickets, better fielding and better performance. Umar Akmal got seven opportunities, so he should have cemented his place in the team,” said Arthur who came to Pakistan very recently for the first time after winning the ‘mini World Cup’.

Senior players have to perform extraordinarily

While Umar was not a part of the trophy winning team, Wahab got injured in the first game. However, his performance in the match was not one to be talked about. Hence, Mickey has clearly mentioned that in this team, no one’s position is nailed and the team will be selected only on the basis of performance and nothing else.

“Competition in bowling department is pretty good and impressive. Young players are knocking at the door with their outstanding performance, so the senior players have to perform extraordinarily, as it is the only way that can keep them in safe zone. Wahab is a good player, but we have great youngsters in the team as well, who are also very impressive, so competition is very tough and Wahab really need to work hard and get back his place in the team,” he concluded.